And as expected, single people who are okay with relationship conflicts were less happy. But the researchers from the new study say that these findings only reflect the average experience, and that there’s a group of people, a minority, who are very happy to be on their own. Single people now outnumber married adults in the United States, with more than 128 million singles representing 51 percent of the adult population. Well, there are more of them.
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“It is a well-documented finding that single people tend to be less happy compared to those in a relationship but that may not be true for everyone”, said lead researcher Yuthika Girme, psychology doctoral candidate at University of Auckland. In researcher-speak, such people have high “avoidance social goals”, and when they’re in relationships, they often end up being miserable. But a new study makes clear that for some, being single is the way to be. The researchers found similar results in a separate survey of 187 University of Auckland students. He also went on to add that some of them could find it useful to change their perspective on certain things, which is apparently one of the main goals in couples’ counseling – not to help people who have trouble communicating with one another understand each other, but to chance them and teach them to ignore their problems.
Contrary to previous research that associated being single with a lower life satisfaction and poorer physical and psychological health, the study noted that for some individuals, being single may actually lead to a more “zen” life – removing some of the anxiety triggered by relationship conflicts. The research has been conducted with the participation of 4,000 respondents of both genders with ages between 18 and 94 years old.
Just because you’re happy being single that doesn’t mean you should try too hard to avoid all forms on human contact. However, it can cause negative effects when they have a spouse or lover, resulting in feelings of anxiousness, loneliness, and dissatisfaction with life.
Being single can be a perk. For example, certain studies have suggested that single people are more motivated to stay in shape. Above all else, relying on someone else for happiness or satisfaction can be a slippery slope.
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According to a study published by the Society for Personality and Social Psychology, people wary of relationship conflicts can be happy whether they are in a relationship or not.
